Staunton, March 20 — It has become a commonplace to blame Kremlin-controlled media for the upsurge in anti-Americanism and hatred of a supposed “fifth column,” but two Russian sociologists say that hatred has been on the rise among Russians for a long time and at most this generalized hatred is now being channeled by the […]
Staunton, March 5 – The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize, to suggest that old rules and old expectations no longer apply and thereby increase uncertainty and fear. That explains why someone like Kseniya Sobchak has suggested that she is next on Putin’s list now that the Kremlin has killed Boris Nemtsov and why an […]
Staunton, February 19 – The situation in and around Russia is now changing with such dizzying rapidity that it is all but impossible to keep up, given the overriding need to focus on Vladimir Putin’s continuing aggression in Ukraine. But many, small and large, are worth watching because of the potential each of them has […]
Staunton, January 12 – Some activists among Russia’s numerically small peoples of the North would like to open casinos on their territories in the hopes that such facilities would provide them with jobs and money of the kind that some of the native peoples of America have obtained by doing so. On the one hand, […]
Staunton, December 20 – In the minds of some, Vladimir Putin used his press conference December 18 to demonstrate his conviction that he will remain president of Russia forever, ever more Russian commentators are asking “What will be the situation after Putin?” Among those doing so is Daniil Kotsyubinsky, a historian and journalist, who gave […]
Staunton, November 30 – The ethnonym “Tatar” has a long a complicated history, one that reflects both the understanding and confusions of investigators and officials and that highlights both real links and imaginary ones, according to Pavel Gusterin, a specialist on Central Asia and the Middle East at the Russian Institute for Strategic Research. In […]
Staunton, November 18 – Articles predicting in apocalyptic terms that Vladimir Putin’s deals with China will lead to Russia’s loss of Siberia and the Far East are now a regular feature on the Russian blogosphere. But more seriously and in any case more immediately, a Tajik analyst says, Moscow has already ceded its dominance in […]
Staunton, October 23 – In the course of a discussion of why he argues Moscow will have to reverse the Anschluss of Crimea at the end of Russia’s war with Ukraine, Andrey Illarionov says that the Russian government could lose many other disputed territories to neighboring countries. The Russian commentator lists the following territories which […]
Staunton, October 20 – Vladimir Putin has approved plans to step up exploration for new natural resource deposits in Russia, a move that reflects his earlier failure to support such explorations, his effort to respond to declining domestic production, and his plans for long-term autarchy without any fundamental change in the Russian economy. On the […]
Staunton, September 24 – Moscow’s decision to conduct a military exercise on Wrangel Island (map) and its dispatch there of soldiers from the Eastern Military District threatens the delicate ecosystem of that island and violates Russian law and Russian promises to protect that UNESCO-listed world wildlife site, according to Greenpeace Russia. In a statement released […]
